Japanese army to train in Coronado

NORTH COUNTY -- About 200 soldiers from the Japanese Ground
Self-Defense Force will be in San Diego County next week to train
in amphibious assault tactics.

Dubbed "Iron Fist," the exercise is the result of Japanese army
commanders asking Marine Corps officials for the training, most of
which will take place at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado.

The exercise will include putting Japanese troops through
water-training exercises and a short deployment aboard the USS
Comstock for a nighttime landing on the shores at Camp
Pendleton.

"Late last summer, the Japanese approached the Marine Corps to
learn more about amphibious training," said Capt. Kent Robbins, a
public affairs officer attached to the 1 Marine Expeditionary Force
at Camp Pendleton. "We are basically putting them through an
extremely drummed down version of a Marine Expeditionary Unit
training package."

A Marine Expeditionary Unit typically numbers around 2,000
troops and includes an infantry battalion, a squadron of
helicopters and attack jets and a group of combat support
personnel. The units deploy aboard amphibious ships and represent
the "tip of the spear" and have rapid-response capabilities.

Robbins said the main body of the Japanese force will arrive on
Monday with the roughly three-week training exercise slated to
begin shortly thereafter.

"They're a land-based force that simply wants to learn more," he
said. "This is a new thing for them."

On or about Jan. 24, the troops taking part in the simulated
beach assault will sail from San Diego aboard the Comstock, a
609-foot ship that transports land craft, amphibious vehicles and
troops to a beach landing area.

A public affairs officer for the Comstock said the details
regarding the ship's role in the exercise are still being worked
out.

Robbins said The Associated Press incorrectly reported the
troops would be simulating infiltration of a captured island by
boat and retaking it.

"There's nothing about overtaking a guerilla force on an
island," he said.

Only a handful of Japanese military planners will visit Camp
Pendleton as part of the exercise, Robbins said, adding the only
other time the Japanese will be at the base bordering Oceanside is
for the nighttime beach assault.

The Ground Self-Defense Force is the largest of Japan's three
armed service branches with about 160,000 personnel. It is intended
to deter attack, repulse a small invasion or conduct a holding
action until it can be reinforced by U.S. armed forces.